"If they don’t want us there, just tell us," U of L Athletics Director Tom Jurich said during a radio show interview over the weekend.

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Updated: 6:25 PM EST Dec 7, 2016

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WEBVTT
ATHLETICS DIRECTOR
TOM JURICH
SAYS HE WON'T BE THE ONLY ONE
CARRYING THE BURDEN.
>> THEY'VE CHANGED THE WHOLE
CONVERSATION TO BLAME IT ON THE
UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE, AND I
THINK THAT'S CRIMINAL.
>> REPORTER: THAT WAS TOM JURICH
ON THE D AND D SPILL THE TEA
RADIO SHOW ON WLOU OVER THE
WEEKEND.
>> THE WAY WE LOOK IT, WE'LL BE
A TEAM PLAYER, WE SAID WE'LL
HELP ANY PROBLEMS THEY HAVE
THERE, BUT I DON'T WANT TO BE
THE ONLY ONE THAT HELPS.
>> REPORTER:
THE UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE
ATHLETIC DIRECTOR SAYS HE NEVER
WANTED AN ARENA DOWNTOWN; HE'S
ALWAYS WANTED IT ON CAMPUS.
>> BUT EVERYBODY SAID A TEAM
PLAYER, AND I DID.
>> Reporter: THE UNIVERSITY,
CITY OF LOUISVILLE, AND
COMMONWEALTH ALL WENT IN ON A
DEAL TO BUILD THE KFC YUM!
CENTER, BUT NOW DEBT PAYMENTS
ARE ABOUT TO INCREASE, AND THE
CITY WANTS THE UNIVERSITY TO PAY
MORE TO PLAY AT THE YUM CENTER.
>> I THINK WE SHOULD ALL STEP UP
AND WORK TOGETHER.
>> Reporter: BUT JURICH FEELS
LIKE
THE CITY WANTS U OF L OUT OF THE
YUM CENTER ALL TOGETHER.
>> ON CAMPUS, WE'RE TIRED EVER
ALL THE RHETORIC.
IF THEY DON'T WANT US THERE,
JUST SAY SO.
>> Reporter: BUT METRO COUNCIL
PRESIDENT DAVID YATES SAYS
THAT'S NOT THE CASE.
HE SAYS THE METRO COUNCIL WILL
VOTE LATER THIS WEEK ON A
RESOLUTION THAT WILL ALLOW THE
MAYOR TO NEGOTIATE A BETTER DEAL
WITH THE UNIVERSITY AND THE
COMMONWEALTH.
>> WE'RE A TRI-POD.
IF ANY OF US DOES NOT STEP UP,
IF WE'RE NOT ABLE TO PUT THE
COMMUNITY ABOVE OUR INTERESTS,
AND PLAY BALL TOGETHER, WE WON'T
GET A BETTER DEAL.
>> Reporter: THE METRO
COUNCIL BUDGET COMMITTEE MEETS
TOMORROW.
COUNCIL PRESIDENT DAVID YATES
SAYS HE EXPECTS THAT RESOLUTION
TO BE APPROVED.
REPORTING LIVE, EMILY MAHER WLKY
NEWS.
>> THANKS, EMILY.
NOW, THE KFC YUM! CENTER IS THE
THIRD LARGEST COLLEGE BASKETBALL
ARENA BEHIND ONLY THE CARRIER
DOME IN SYRACUSE AND RUPP ARENA.
SINCE IT OPENED IN 2010, NEARLY
TWO AND A HALF MILLION FANS HAVE
ATTENDED MEN'S BASKETBALL GAMES.
THE UNIVERSITY EXPECTS TO

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City hopes to work with U of L on Yum! Center agreement

"If they don’t want us there, just tell us," U of L Athletics Director Tom Jurich said during a radio show interview over the weekend.

As thousands of fans make their way to the KFC Yum! Center for Wednesday night’s game between the Louisville Cardinals and Southern Illinois Salukis, the U of L Athletics Director is questioning whether the city wants them playing in the downtown arena.When city leaders approved the funding to pay of the Yum! Center about a decade ago, they thought the arena would make a lot more money.Now, debts are getting too expensive, and they want to the University to pay more.Athletics Director Tom Jurich said he feels the university is being blamed for the money problem.“(The) University of Louisville has done their part,” Jurich said on Saturday on the radio show, D & D Spill the Tea with Dawn Elliot and Denise Bentley. “That’s the thing that really disappoints me so much, is that they’ve changed the whole conversation to blame it on the University of Louisville and I think that’s criminal.”Jurich said on the radio show that he’s never wanted an arena downtown, that he’s always wanted it on campus.“But everybody said, ‘Please come down, be a team player.’ So I was a team player, went downtown,” Jurich said. During a Metro Council budget committee meeting last week, the head of the Louisville Arena Authority discussed the pending debt situation with Metro Council members.Metro Council President David Yates said he feels confident all parties will reach an agreement on how to best fund the debt.“We want to be partners with the university and I think they want to be partners with the city,” Yates said. “I think the state has a huge, huge buy-in on this and I think they will all step up and work together.”But Jurich said he feels the city wants the university out of the Yum! Center altogether.“Over on our campus, we’re tired of it,” he said. “We’re tired of the rhetoric. .”Yates said that’s not the case.He said the Metro Council will vote later this week on a resolution that will allow the mayor to negotiate a better deal with the University and Commonwealth.“We’re a tripod,” Yates said. “If any one of us does not step up and do what we need to do, if we’re not willing to put the community above our own interests, if we’re not willing to play ball together, then we won’t get a better deal.”Yates said he expects council members to approve that resolution at Thursday’s meeting.A spokesperson for University of Louisville acting-President Neville Pinto said Pinto, “Is not currently commenting on this topic.”

LOUISVILLE, Ky. —

As thousands of fans make their way to the KFC Yum! Center for Wednesday night’s game between the Louisville Cardinals and Southern Illinois Salukis, the U of L Athletics Director is questioning whether the city wants them playing in the downtown arena.When city leaders approved the funding to pay of the Yum! Center about a decade ago, they thought the arena would make a lot more money.Now, debts are getting too expensive, and they want to the University to pay more.Athletics Director Tom Jurich said he feels the university is being blamed for the money problem.“(The) University of Louisville has done their part,” Jurich said on Saturday on the radio show, D & D Spill the Tea with Dawn Elliot and Denise Bentley. “That’s the thing that really disappoints me so much, is that they’ve changed the whole conversation to blame it on the University of Louisville and I think that’s criminal.”Jurich said on the radio show that he’s never wanted an arena downtown, that he’s always wanted it on campus.“But everybody said, ‘Please come down, be a team player.’ So I was a team player, went downtown,” Jurich said. During a Metro Council budget committee meeting last week, the head of the Louisville Arena Authority discussed the pending debt situation with Metro Council members.Metro Council President David Yates said he feels confident all parties will reach an agreement on how to best fund the debt.“We want to be partners with the university and I think they want to be partners with the city,” Yates said. “I think the state has a huge, huge buy-in on this and I think they will all step up and work together.”But Jurich said he feels the city wants the university out of the Yum! Center altogether.“Over on our campus, we’re tired of it,” he said. “We’re tired of the rhetoric. .”Yates said that’s not the case.He said the Metro Council will vote later this week on a resolution that will allow the mayor to negotiate a better deal with the University and Commonwealth.“We’re a tripod,” Yates said. “If any one of us does not step up and do what we need to do, if we’re not willing to put the community above our own interests, if we’re not willing to play ball together, then we won’t get a better deal.”Yates said he expects council members to approve that resolution at Thursday’s meeting.A spokesperson for University of Louisville acting-President Neville Pinto said Pinto, “Is not currently commenting on this topic.”